Abstract

Efforts to reverse groundwater depletion in hard-rock regions by enhancing aquifer recharge with valuable surface water present complex challenges and trade-offs related to upstream–downstream interactions and equity. Here, groundwater modelling is used in combination with economic valuation techniques to assess the effectiveness of alternative supply and demand measures under different climate change scenarios in an upper sub-basin of the Krishna River basin in India. It is found that aquifer recharge provides benefits for the sub-basin that are not apparent at the basin scale. Water recharged or crops selected in upper catchments should aim to generate economic benefits that outweigh losses faced downstream.